Transit

One of GPATS’ responsibilities is to assess the transportation infrastructure needs of the region. Along with serving as a liaison between regional municipalities, GPATS’ mission is to help coordinate and improve accessibility, connectivity, and mobility throughout the region so people can access all the things they want and need: home, school, shopping, health, recreation, jobs, etc.

Regional transit decisions are discussed within the GPATS Transit Coordinating Committee (TCC), a group of individuals with technical training in transit, before Study Team and Policy Committee meetings. They bring information and recommendations before the Study Team, who then advises the Policy Committee to help with recommendations and decision making processes. The TCC members can be seen below:

Transit Coordinating Committee Members

Katerina Moreland (Clemson University Campus Transportation Planning)

Asangwua Ikein (Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study)

Heather Lollis (Clemson Area Transit)

Rhonda Sloan (Anderson County Transportation Planning)

Alex R. John (Greenville Transit Authority)

Todd Steadman (City of Clemson)

Nicole McAden (Greenville Transit Authority)

Jason Knudsen (City of Simpsonville)

Federal Transit Administration Funds

GPATS is the regional funnel for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Funds, which are available to regional, public and private (private transit providers must be sub-recipients of public transit providers to access FTA funds) transit providers:

5303 – Metropolitan and Statewide Planning

Support a cooperative, continuous, and comprehensive planning program for transportation investment decision-making at the metropolitan or state level.

5310 – Enhanced Mobility of Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities Program

Intended to enhance mobility for seniors and persons with disabilities by providing funds for programs to serve the special needs of transit-dependent populations beyond traditional public transportation services and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary paratransit services. These are the only funds that GPATS has any direct responsibility for. Projects are ranked by the Transit Coordinating Committee (TCC) before being evaluated by the GPATS Study Team and voted on by the GPATS Policy Committee.

5339 – Bus and Bus Facilities Program

Provides capital funding to replace, rehabilitate, and purchase buses and related equipment and to construct bus-related facilities. Only the two regional transit agencies, CAT and GTA, are eligible for these funds.

5307 – Urbanized Area Formula Program

Grants to Urbanized Areas (UZA) for public transportation capital, planning, job access and reverse commute projects, as well as operating expenses in certain circumstances.